It was a success! When everyone first yelled "Surprise!", for a moment there I thought my friend was going to turn and bolt. But then she saw who was there, and that made all the difference. Her daughter had invited people her mother had once been close to but hadn't seen in years; some of them flew in from out of state. And some of them she'll probably never see again, as they are getting along in years. It was a lovely California party, candles floating in the pool, etc. The daughter can be kind of a flake, but this time she got it absolutely right.

I did, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. This is only the second Aida I've seen, and the first one seemed to go on forever. But yesterday those four hours just zipped by. I would have been glad of a fifth act.

I liked it too, in spite of its three leads all being walrus-sized. Good spectacle...I don't think I've ever seen that many people on one stage before. My wife was fascinated by the way the Amneris was able to sing most of her role with her mouth barely open and her lips barely moving. But I was surprised that the tenor received no applause for his "Celeste Aida". Botha sang it beautifully.

Indeed he did. To a thundering silence. Then when Violeta Urmana finished "Ritorno Vincitor"...again, silence. She was actually leaving the stage when someone in that NY audience yelled "Brava!" (Urg, no -- bravo.) Then they began to applaud, as if they'd been waiting for permission. Strange audience.

I had one problem with Urmana. Big voice, with a lovely, lovely high-notes pianissimo. But when she sang her top notes full voice, as often as not those notes came out as a screech. Her Lady Macbeth was booed at La Scala (now there's a shocker -- booing at La Scala) but not for screeching; for making mistakes. However, La Scala is supposedly grooming her for their first Norma in over 20 years.

Back to the Aida simulcast, I read a review that criticized the stage direction as being too static, citing specifically the way the chorus just stood still in rows while singing. Well, they didn't just march in in rows; the rows were created by the addition of segments alternating with other choreographed moves by the principals and the supers. When you're building a mosaic picture on a stage using people instead of tiles, you can't have people bouncing around all over the place. I thought the staging was stately and right.